Prince Harry wins battle for private security when he returns to the UK

Prince Harry has won his fight for private security when he is in the UK, it has been claimed.

The Duke of Sussex’s lengthy battle with the Home Office looks set to come to an end after the royal and VIP executive committee, Ravec, said the prince meets the threshold for official protection.

It claims he may be granted automatic armed police protection in a matter of weeks, provided the ruling is in his favour.

This has been a long-running issue for Harry, 41, who said the loss of his full-time security in the UK makes it ‘impossible’ to bring his wife, Meghan Markle, and children to visit because of safety concerns.

He lost a high-profile legal claim in May after he took the government to court over the decision he should receive a lower level of protection after quitting as a working member of the royal family.

Harry’s letter to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood in September calling for a reappraisal of his security status in the UK prompted a fresh risk assessment by Ravec.

Sources close to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex told the Mail on Sunday that Harry’s private security had been reinstated.

‘It’s now a formality. Sources at the Home Office have indicated that security is now nailed on for Harry,’ The Times reported.

Currently, if the prince wants to visit the UK, he must inform the Metropolitan Police 30 days before he arrives to apply for security, with each trip being assessed individually for threat levels.

Harry’s lawyers argue he ‘inherited a security risk at birth, for life’ and said his life has been put ‘at stake’ as a result of his ‘manifestly inferior’ security.

The push to reinstate the prince’s security protection was perhaps emphasised during his last visit to the UK in September when a ‘known stalker’ came ‘within feet’ of him on two occasions.

If protection is granted, it could lead to Harry’s children meeting the King for the first time since 2022.

King Charles last saw his grandchildren, who live in California, during a visit for the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations nearly four years ago.

At the time, Archie was aged two while Lilibet was just eight months old.

A spokesman for the Sussexes declined to comment on ‘security matters’, the Times reported.

A government official said: ‘The UK government’s protective security system is rigorous and proportionate.

‘It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals’ security.’

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